Christmas Dreams
by citrus luver
Summary: It's Jim and Bones' first Christmas as parents aboard the Enterprise. Or... Jim plans a extravagant Christmas for his family until a mission goes horribly wrong.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes: **This is written for the annual Space Wrapped challenge on Lj.

Due to poor planning there is still two chapters half written. However, I figured if I don't post it now, since today was my posting date, I will either never finish it, or it will be another year before I do post it, so to force myself to actually finished I'm posting the first two chapters now.

This is set in the same universe as The Moment; however, it is not necessary to read that fic prior to this one.

**Christmas Dreams **

**Chapter 1**

Leonard McCoy awoke suddenly to quietness and coldness. It startled him more than the feeling of being jolted awake. The one thing missing in his life lately was the lack of silence. It was even stranger to awake to it.

He stretched his arms over his head before turning sideways. It was only then that he realized why it was so cold. The spot next to him was empty. The normally human furnace that was his husband Jim Kirk was missing. "Jim?" He called out, softer than he would have months earlier.

He frowned, a little concerned especially when he noted that Jim's uniform was still hanging on the wall. Jim's boots that had been haphazardly tossed aside due to last night's events were still where they had landed. It had been a long time, too God damn long.

Also, there was no way he could have missed a red alert or anything like that no matter how tired he was lately. At least the reason for his exhaustion was a good one.

Leonard stretched one more time before pushing away the blankets. He grabbed his robe and slipped into his fuzzy slippers. Jim had procured them for him during their last stay at a space station.

He paddled out of their bedroom. Their quarters had only been partitioned into separate individual living areas during their last stay at the space station. Spock had graciously given up his quarter which was adjoined to theirs via the shared bathroom. However Leonard had a nagging feeling that it had less to do with 'you'll need larger quarters' and more that Vulcans had more sensitive ears. However his mama had raised him to never look a gift horse in the mouth, so Leonard didn't question it… much.

As Leonard entered the living area, he couldn't help but smile at the scene that greeted him. On the couch that was really too small for a nearly two meter tall man to comfortably spread out on were his two most favorite people in universe.

Jim was sprawled out on the couch. His reading glasses dangled crookedly on the bridge of his nose. One arm was hanging limping over the side while the other was protectively supporting their baby girl. Little Joanna Kirk-McCoy was draped over Jim's chest. Her tiny pudgy little legs tucked under her belly. Her pint-sized fists clinched tightly around Jim's pajama top.

A content smile formed on her petite rose bud shaped lips. Her eyelashes, already long and curling upwards, fluttered as she dreamt.

Times like these, Leonard wished he had more than a PADD to capture the moment. Over the months they had captured PADDs and PADDs full of pictures of their little bundle of joy. He snapped a picture anyways with one of the PADDs that was placed precariously close to the edge of their coffee table.

He was tempted to let them sleep. Jim looked younger when he was asleep, and these days sleep was a commodity which they rarely received. The stress lines that pillowed around his forehead had faded away.

It was even rarer for Jo to sleep, and from the looks of it this was the longest period she had slept in days. She had started cutting teeth, and they were brutal. She had been running a slight fever just the day before, and that made both her daddies sweat.

He briefly glanced at the PADD with the dimly lit screen. He smiled at the contents before shaking his head fondly.

_Jim and his plans…_

Leonard knelt down beside them. He lightly ran his fingers over Jim's straight blond hair. He grinned when he saw a small smile reflexively form on Jim's lips before his whole body instinctively gravitated towards him.

Jo let out a small whimper at the slight movement. Her fingers uncurled from Jim's shirt. Her light blonde eyelashes fluttered open revealing a pair of stunningly blue sapphire eyes. Eyes that Leonard could already predict would spell doom for them all.

Leonard pressed a finger to his lips. A large, babyish smile broke out on her face. She pulled herself up before thrusting out her hands at him.

Leonard gently pulled out of Jim's hold and cradled her against his chest. Her fresh baby scent mixed with the fragrance of the baby powder and her watermelon scented shampoo overwhelmed him.

Jim shifted at the loss of weight but didn't awake.

"Let's let Daddy sleep for a little longer okay, Jo-bug?"

Jo beamed sunnily at him. She was such a happy, easy baby when she wasn't crying. That had been a blessing and in hindsight had been a factor they had overlooked when they first agreed to parenthood in space. That had been a journey in itself, and now looking back, Leonard wondered why it had taken him so long to agree.

Leonard pressed a kiss to his baby girl's forehead before carrying her back into the bedroom. He set her down in the center of the bed. He swiftly changed her out of her dirty diaper. He crimpled it into a large ball before disposing of it down the garbage chute. He then walked to their dresser.

They had emptied out the topmost drawer for Jo. He dug through the numerous outfits they had procured since and prior to her birth.

He eventually pulled out a fuzzy brown sweater with a bear face embroidered onto the front and similar sweater in green with a frog face stitched in. Leonard didn't understand the appeal of a line of clothing dedicated to Terran animal faces, but Jim had found them amusing and adorable when Rand showed them the catalogue full of baby clothes during the third trimester. However Leonard couldn't disagree when the clothes and Jo arrived that she didn't look adorable in them.

He held it up both outfits to the baby and found that Jo had curled up into a little pill bug on the bed. She was sucking enthusiastically on her big toe. Leonard nearly had a heart attack the first time Jo did it. He rambled out a list of especially potent diseases growing on a spaceship at Jim while Jim smiled bemusedly at him. Now, though he was still worried, he had grudgingly come to peace with it and many other things.

"Do you want to be a bear or a frog, sweetie?" Leonard shook the two sweaters. Jo uncurled herself before rolling onto her belly. She giggled and stuck her hands out at the brown one.

In the background, a cheerful laughter filtered through the room. Both father and daughter turned towards it. Jo immediately cooed and threw her hands up at Jim. He was sprouting his signature Cheshire cat smile while leaning against the door frame with his ankles crossed. His blue eyes twinkled.

"Of course, Jo wants to be a little bear, Bones," Jim said easily as he entered the room. He sat down on the bed, and Jo crawled over to him.

Jim picked her up and sat her down on his lap. He stroked her fine dirty blonde hair. Bones rolled his eyes. He placed the green sweater back into the dresser before digging out the matching pair of brown leggings and brown socks.

Jo giggled as they dressed her. With Jim, it always took twice as long. He had a way of causing her to squirm like a worm and squeal in delight. Most days, mornings were hectic, and time was precious. As a result, Bones would quickly dress her.

"I missed you in bed," Leonard stated absently.

"Sorry," Jim respond sheepishly as he ruffled his already unruly bed hair. "Making plans for Christmas, and then Jo woke up..."

Leonard rolled his eyes. It was no secret that the Enterprise had the best Christmas parties out of all the starships in the fleet. Jim, because he was captain, had instated himself as head of the Enterprise holiday planning committee. It was a small group which usually included Scotty, because engineering had to build the sets; however, any crewmember was welcome to help, Uhura and Rand, because 'seriously Jim do you understand anything about color coordination', Chekov and Sulu, because they can never have enough plants or physics, and Bones and Spock, because nobody else wanted the task of telling Jim 'no'.

Leonard could understand the rationale behind it, but it was getting a little ridiculous as the years went on.

Unlike Leonard, who grew up with the traditional family which translated to large celebrations during the holidays, Jim never got to experience a 'traditional' Christmas with a family, presents, Christmas trees and large Christmas dinners. Winona was always away during Christmas because Christmas was too close to Jim's birthday and Jim's birthday marked the day of her beloved's death. Even Jim's grandparents, who loved and doted on him, couldn't move past the death of George Kirk.

So, it wasn't a surprise now that Jim had a family literally when it came to Leonard and now Jo, and figuratively with the Enterprise crew that he was trying to make up for it.

However, Leonard had seen and heard the rough plans for this year and even he thought the ten-deck Christmas tree, the flashing lights, and the ice rink were a little crazy.

He gave up the 'Jo is only a baby. She's not going to remember or care' argument, when Jim retorted with the 'Jo isn't the only kid, Bones. This is the Enterprise's first Christmas with kids, Bones, kids!' After which he then promptly ran off to convince Scotty to build a chimney because 'oh my god, Bones. How else is Santa going to deliver all the presents?'

Jo let out of a string of baby babble that only made sense to her. They figured she loved hearing her own voice. "She's going to start talking soon," Jim said fondly. "Aren't you, baby girl?" He twisted her around and made a funny face at her. Jo burst out into her cute baby laughter.

Leonard smiled. "Yeah, she is."

"Can you say, Daddy?" Jim cooed at her. Jo cocked her head in the Kirk fashion. It was the same look Jim gave Leonard when he was trying to act oblivious. Leonard rolled his eyes. He briefly glanced at the chronometer sitting on their nightstand.

"Let's get ready and get some breakfast. Shift starts soon."

Jim nodded. Leonard hastily changed into his medical blues while Jim continued to get Jo to laugh intermixed with 'say Daddy, Jo-bug'.

"Bones, what's your schedule like today?"

Leonard rolled his eyes. Most captains knew what their senior staff had scheduled for the day, but Leonard knew it was more of trust and Jim's desire to not micromanage that he gave both he and Scotty mostly free range in their departments. "I know you'll keep our crew in good health, Bones."

"I got an appendectomy scheduled for the morning and the start of the crew and civilian physicals."

Leonard knew Jim detected the 'Jim, you aren't getting out of your physicals this year so stop fighting' tone of voice when he saw Jim cringe. Leonard could only hope Jo wouldn't take after Jim and hate physicals. His hatred for them seemed to have escalated after Jo got her first vaccination. Leonard wasn't sure which one of them cried harder or louder. Jim was a complete mess. That night he refused to even look at Leonard and instead spent the whole night rocking Jo in his grandmother's old rocking chair.

"We're going to reach our next assignment by the midday. Uhura's already detected signs of warp capability," Jim changed the subject easily and swiftly.

Leonard could see the gleam in Jim's eyes. Lately all the planets they had encountered hadn't achieved warp drive which meant Jim was forced to reluctantly abide by the Prime Directive. "Should I ask one of the nurses to watch Jo then?"

Jim stood up and passed Jo to Leonard. He pulled out one of his gold uniforms. "Nah, me and a security detail is more than enough to handle this mission. It'll be a simple meet and greet: textbook first contact. We'll probably blend right on in."

Leonard held his tongue. He gave his opinion freely, more freely than he should; however, despite the uneasy feeling he always got whenever Jim left the Enterprise and hell when did he find the Enterprise safer than solid ground, he really couldn't see much danger in this mission. He had seen the scans collected by the science team. A highly advanced civilization lived on the planet. There were even signs their warp drive capability originated even before the Vulcans.

Jim tossed his pajama top onto their bed. Even after so many years, Jim was still as handsome as he had been during their academy days. He had gained some weight over the years. They all had. It was one of the inevitable factors of living on a starship, but Jim was still mostly muscle. Leonard sometimes wondered if seeing an older, alternate universe version of himself had hardened Jim's resolve to stay fit. Leonard was just glad he didn't have to implement the 'rabbit' diet in this reality.

"If things go well, maybe we could even get some much needed shore leave here. The beaches look incredible, Bones." Jim gushed out.

Only Jim kirk could on one hand be thinking about beaches while on the other hand attempt to convince Scotty to convert the Enterprise's pool into an ice rink.

"We could all use some sun, or even Keenser is going to start looking pasty. Jo has never seen the beach or an ocean before, and she already loves the pool."

Leonard smiled fondly. He knew whenever Jim got like this; the best thing to do was let him talk it out. He placed Jo on his hip before walking forward. He gently captured Jim's lips in a chaste kiss. "That'd be lovely," Leonard muttered as they broke the kiss.

Jim swung his arm over Leonard's shoulder as they exited their quarters.

The Enterprise's corridors were still mostly empty this early in the morning. It would be another ten to twenty minutes before alpha shift would start making their way to the recreation rooms for their breakfast, and gamma shift was still at their posts.

Upon entering the senior officers' mess hall, they found only Scotty present. He was hunched over in a chair near the windows reading what Leonard could only assume to be the latest engineering journal. He was occasionally sipping at his morning coffee.

They collected their meals from the food synthesizers: eggs, bacon, hash browns and toast with coffee, black for Leonard and milk with enough sugar to induce a heart attack for Jim, and a bowl of oatmeal with fresh fruit grown from the onboard greenhouse and a bottle of warm milk for Jo. They set their plates down across from Scotty. He looked up and beamed at Jo. "Good morning Captain, Doctor and wee princess," he said sunnily. Jo clapped her hands happily as Jim wrestled her into her high chair. She kicked her chair moodily.

"Morning Scotty," Jim said easily as he tucked a cloth under the collar of Jo's sweater. Jo whined. She stretched out her hands for the bowl. "Not yet baby girl."

Leonard nodded his head in acknowledgement before taking a deep sip of his coffee. It tasted as good as always.

"The upgrades to the warp core should be done before the end of the week then we can start on those other modifications."

"I knew I could count on you, Scotty." Jim beamed before feeding Jo a spoonful of oatmeal.

"She's getting bigger by the day." Scotty said warmly. "I still remember when you used to bring her down to engineering to lull her to sleep during gamma shift. I think my men miss the singing. Spock even reported that our efficiency had never been greater."

Leonard saw the blush rise from the back of Jim's neck to his cheeks. The kid, rarely modest, didn't understand he had a good set of pipes.

"She is sleeping better now, but cutting teeth sucks."

Scotty nodded understandingly. "I remember when it happened with my nephew. My poor sister was at her wit's end. You'd think they would have found a way to make it easier after so many centuries."

"Bones says they haven't to build character." He fed Jo another spoonful of the oatmeal before twirling the spoon dramatically. "But the question is whose character."

Leonard rolled his eyes.

At that moment, Uhura, Spock, Sulu and Chekov appeared with their breakfast. A string of 'good mornings' were exchanged. Jo smiled sunnily at her many aunts and uncles.

The rest of their breakfast was passed with light conversations. Things like Christmas plans, the next movie for their biweekly gatherings, and the upcoming mission.

"Want to spend a few hours with Daddy on the bridge?" Jim cooed at Jo after unstrapping her from her high chair. Jo clapped her hand excitedly.

"She's definitely going to be a captain someday." Chekov nodded his head sagely as if he had solved all the problems of the universe. Kid was smart enough that he probably could if he wasn't completely devoted to his position as chief navigator.

"It is highly illogical to make such an assumption at this time," Spock started. Jo turned her head at the Vulcan's face and beamed. Spock's stoic expression momentarily disappeared. Leonard loved watching Spock positively melt at Jo's smiles.

Leonard was certain only Jo had that effect on the Vulcan.

When he mentioned it to Jim once, Jim just laughed. "Of course, she's a Kirk-McCoy." Jim answered before flashing his shit eating grin at Leonard. "Besides, Uhura thinks it'll cause Spock to change his opinion about raising a kid in space."

_TBC_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

When Jim kirk was first given the Enterprise, he had expected every mission and every day to be just as exciting and unexpected as their first mission together so many years ago. However as the years went by, and Jim became older and wiser, even Jim Kirk fell into the inevitable cycle of routine.

It had been a while since their last planet side mission and even longer since they been to one with warp capability. Jim was practically bouncing on the balls of his heels as he walked onto the bridge.

He smiled as Chekov chirped out 'keptin on the bridge'. It had started out as a joke since their initial jaunt into space had yielded three captains in a span of one mission; however, after so many years Jim found it endearing. He sank into his chair with Jo on his hip. She kicked her feet excitedly as Lieutenant DeSalle handed over the reports from gamma shift.

He scanned the reports and noted how nothing unusual had appeared during the night. They were on track to arrive at their destination. "Good work, lieutenant." Jim nodded his head.

"Thank you, captain," DeSalle answered. Jim could detect the pride in the young man's voice. Jim watched as the young man hurried off the bridge. He would make a fine captain someday. The rest of the shift change occurred just as smoothly. It was nice to be captain of a crew with so much comradery.

He set Jo down on the ground once the alpha crew was situated. He smiled as she toddled over to Sulu's station. She had just started walking. Like all babies, she was a little unsteady on her feet and walked with her hands straight out.

Jim smiled as she sat down on her bottom before pulling on Sulu's pant legs. He loved the effect she had on his crew. Sulu smiled and scooped her onto his lap. He turned briefly to look at Jim who simply smiled.

"Want to help Uncle Hikaru fly the ship, Jojo?" Sulu asked. He spoke quietly, but loud enough for Jim to hear.

Jo giggled and clapped her hands. Jim watched as Jo pulled herself up so that she could see the console. She wobbled a little as she tried to balance on the curvature of Sulu's legs before he protectively wrapped an arm around her waist.

Jo beamed up at him before directing her attention at the flashing console board. Through the reflection of the view screen, Jim could see Jo was actually listening attentively to Sulu as he described what some of the buttons did. She had her little tongue sticking part way out.

Jim smiled before pulling up a PADD. He groaned at the amount of paperwork and reports he had to fill out before the end of the year. There were upgrades, last minute mission logs, and crew commendations and transfer and reassignment requests.

Over the years, Jim was proud to say he had matured as a captain; he was no longer the green, cocky captain who dove into everything headfirst. It also meant he was more responsible about the growth and career advancement of his crew. He had been extremely lucky to have been directly commissioned to captain straight out of the academy; however, he knew this wasn't the norm. He hated letting crew members go. It felt like he was losing a part of his family, but he knew it was important to let them work under different captains and different ships for their own growth.

He chewed the tip of his pen as he approved the few transfer requests that had been submitted and approved the replacements. Most were from the research departments. He also noted like always there was none from medical. He vaguely wondered when Bones last received a replacement nurse or doctor.

The next time Jim looked up, he saw that Sulu was letting Jo 'drive' the Enterprise. Of course, Jo was too young to understand auto pilot or that she wasn't actually piloting the Enterprise. At least she was having fun.

He knew if the brass saw what he was doing they would cite a thousand regulations: favoritism, hazards and professionalism. Jim normally turned a blind ear to it. During normal operation, the Enterprise practically drove herself. Hell, she did drive itself.

He smiled fondly at the reflection of Jo in Sulu's arm on the view screen before returning to his PADD. He was deeply engrossed in a report from the science team detailing the properties of the vast ecosystem of their last assignment when he felt a tiny tug to his pant leg.

Jim peered up from his PADD and smiled. "Hey baby girl." He tucked the PADD into the space between his leg and the side of his chair.

Jo grinned up at him. "Want to sit with Daddy?"

Jo clapped her hands and babbled a string of her baby talk. Jim, taking that as a yes, scooped her up. He blew a raspberry into her belly causing her to giggle.

At that moment, Chekov's startled cry of 'keptin!' jolted him to attention. He pulled Jo into his lap before looking up. His eyes widened in horror at the large, black mass hurled towards them as the Enterprise flew towards it.

"Mr. Sulu, evasive maneuver now!"

"Aye sir."

Jim reflexively tightened his grip around Jo with one hand as he clenched the edge of his chair to prevent himself from flying off as felt the Enterprise turn hard. At times like these, he really questioned the logic of starships not being equipped with easy to fasten seat belts. He hated the emergency harnesses and had never used them.

Sulu practically bit through his bottom lip as threw his whole weight into turning the ship.

The black mass continued to advance, closer and closer. While the Enterprise, large and gaudy, although sleek in design still turned painfully slow.

"Mr. Sulu," Jim urged. He could feel Jo trembling. He didn't even have to look down to know she was scared.

"I'm trying, sir," Sulu responded. He could tell from experience and Sulu's expression that something was wrong. The Enterprise had finished making a ninety degree turn. The black mass shouldn't still be following them.

"Captain," Spock's stoic voice broke the near silence. As Jim turned to speak, a large bang resonated throughout the Enterprise. A loud, high pitched squeaking sound resonated overhead. As the noise died down, the Enterprise bounced once then twice before settling down.

Jo let out a quiet whimper. Jim gently ran circles through her back before throwing his head back towards Spock and Uhura's station. Uhura's communication panel was already lighting up as different departments were already reporting in their damage. "Yes, Mr. Spock."

"Captain, right before the mass collided with us, sensors showed that it had corrected its course as Mr. Sulu did."

Jim nodded his head. "How did our sensors not pick up on it? This isn't the 1900's when the Titanic failed to notice the iceberg."

"Keptin, it just showed up," Chekov said feebly.

Jim pinched the bridge of his nose. After all these years in space, and he had accumulated a heartily sum now, space debris didn't just show up.

"Mr. Spock and Mr. Chekov, while we complete our mission today, please analysis the ship's sensor logs. We need to see if there are any more anomalies in our systems. Mr. Scott can help as needed."

"Aye sir." Chekov nodded his head.

"Yes captain," Spock answered, as passive as ever, but Jim could detect the curiosity in Spock's voice. In his Vulcan way, Spock was dying to see what could have caused such an incident.

He diverted his attention to Uhura. "Damage report?"

"Minor crew injuries," Uhura reported. "Engineering reports minor hull damage."

"Good, good." The last thing he needed this far into deep space was ship damage. They were weeks out from the nearest star base that was large enough to accommodate a ship the size of the Enterprise. "Mr. Sulu, correct our heading back to our assignment then."

"Yes sir." He could detect the slight tremor in Sulu's voice. He was clearly still shaken from the incident.

Just as Jim was planning was stand up to squeeze Sulu on the shoulder, the all too familiar voice belonging to that of his husband filtered onto the bridge. "God damn it, Jim, what the hell was that?"

Jim rolled his eyes. He spun in his chair to be rewarded by one seething Leonard McCoy as he stepped off the turbo lift. Really, most men cowered in fear when Bones appeared enraged; however, Jim Kirk always found it incredibly hot. He loved the grouchy side of his husband as much as he loved his affectionate and happy side.

"Turbulence?" Jim replied lamely. He smiled as Jo reached upwards. Jim tightened her grip around her.

"Turbulence, my ass. I almost cut out a section of Ensign Weathers' intestines, Jim Kirk." Leonard traversed the room. He crossed his arms; a deep scowl formed on his face.

Jo beamed at him and waved her arms. She babbled a string of nonsense, and like always the scowl on Bones' expression immediately faded away. Spock wasn't the only one Jo had this effect on.

Bones took Jo from his arms. "Hey baby girl." He pressed a kiss to Jo's forehead. "Did Daddy do something stupid again?"

"Hey!" Jim protested indignantly.

Bones' smile got wider when Jo actually nodded. He would need to work on his daughter. He couldn't have them both ganging up on him.

"Spock, you have the con." Jim stood up. He pulled at the cuff of Bones' uniform.

"Yes, captain." Spock answered.

Bones rolled his eyes. "What the hell Jim?"

"Need to go down to engineering and talk to Scotty about what just happened." Jim eyed Bones expectedly.

Bones' eyebrow immediately rose. "Damnit Jim, I'm a doctor not a…"

Jim flashed his husband a smile before slapping him on the shoulder. "I know Bones. You're a doctor, and you know how engineers are. They'll never leave their posts even if they're bleeding out."

"Engineers." Bones rolled his eyes; however, Jim didn't even have to look back to know that he would follow into the turbo lift.

Jim loved the soft hum of the Enterprise's engines. When he was first given the Enterprise, he used to spend hours in engineering climbing through the Jefferies tubes. He always figured if he hadn't gone through the command track; he would have definitely done engineering.

As they entered engineering, Jim flashed a glance at Bones and Jo. He loved seeing Jo's eyes widen every time he brought her down here to visit. Even though she wasn't even a year old yet, most people who knew her loved to speculate which track she would pursue when she joined the academy.

As much as Jim entertained the idea of Jo following in his footsteps and being a captain because any child with his and Bones' genetics was definitely a force to be reckoned with, he wouldn't be too disappointed if she chose something else.

Bones however was scowling something fierce. Jim almost did a second take at the chaos currently unfolding in his engine room. Normally it was controlled chaos.

Jim climbed over a pile over loose hose and piping. "Scotty," he shouted as he spun on the balls of his heels to locate the Scotsman.

"Aye captain," a disembodied voice called out over the noise. Moments later, his chief engineer, sweaty and grease covered, appeared through a conduit. He rubbed his hands on the towel that he always had tucked inside his pants pocket before walking forward.

"Mr. Scott, what are you doing to my engine room?"

He spotted Bones moving through the chaos. He was tricorder already twirling. Jim could already see a few of the younger, greener engineers ducking behind panels. They had a lot to learn. Bones was a master at finding people who tried to avoid medical attention.

"Upgrades, sir," Scotty answered easily.

"Spock and Chekov may come down here later for data on our earlier collision."

Scotty nodded his head. "What happened sir, if you don't mind me asking? Sulu's one of the best pilots in the fleet." Scotty patted the Enterprise's walls. "She's strong, sir, but it's a long way to space dock if something happens to her outer hull. We don't have nearly enough reserves to fix damaged outer hull plating."

"We think it wasn't simple space debris. Spock believes it course corrected when Sulu turned her."

Scotty's eyes widened. "Sentient space debris," he shook his head. "Not something I ever thought I would see."

"We're a long way from home, Scotty."

"That we are."

Bones appeared minutes later. There was a large scowl on his face. "Bones?"

"Engineers..." Bones shifted Jo in his arms. "This ship is full of overzealous people who never understand the importance of health. Five crewmen had second degree burns; a sixth had a slight concussion." Bones gave him the eyebrow, as if insinuating that it was all Jim's fault. So what if he often avoided sick bay like a plague when he was actually hurt, he was the captain. He was busy.

Jim laughed awkwardly before turning back to Scotty. "So how are the plans on turning the pool into an ice rink going?" He spotted Bones leaning against one of the consoles in the corner of his eye.

"I think we can actually do it, Captain. Just need to adjust the temperature sensors a little more. Keenser thinks we can actually get it to snow."

Bones' eyebrows shot upwards. Scotty and Keenser made quite a team, and one that Bones was constantly complaining was giving him as many grey hairs as Jim did.

A few hours later, they finally reached Loyan. It was a large purple planet which Spock found 'fascinating'. Sulu easily maneuvered the Enterprise into a perfect synchronized orbit around the planet.

Jim flashed Bones a smile as he stepped off the bridge once again. "See you in a bit," he mouthed as he doors of the turbo lift slid close.

The last thing he saw was a particularly high eyebrow raise. Jim laughed joyfully.

_TBC_


End file.
